Procedure: (Please see Figure 1 for reference) I. Rocket Design
Shape a nosecone from 1” thick Styrofoam using a utility knife and file.
Insert a cup hook into the trailing end of the nosecone.
Thread elastic through the cup hook, creating a loop, and sew the end of the loop to the rest of the elastic band.
Cut a circle 14” in diameter out of a plastic shopping bag, and a circle 2” in diameter from the middle of the 14” circle.
Reinforce the plastic circle with six pieces of packing tape (4cm2 in area) spaced evenly along the perimeter of the bag, 1 cm from the perimeter.
Using a hole punch, punch six 5mm holes in the packing tape as described above, and tie a 15” piece of kite string around each reinforced hole of the parachute.
Sew one end of the snap swivel to the elastic 3” below the nosecone. Attach the parachute to the other end of the snap swivel.
Cut three fins from balsa wood to the specifications illustrated in Figure 2.
Form tabs in the balsa wood fins to insert into the slits in the body tube.
Cut slits into the body tube to fit inserted fin tabs.
Create a “package” for the unused end of the bungee cord by folding and gluing a 3cmX6cm piece of paper. Glue “package” inside the body tube 10 cm from the top end of the body tube.
Create an engine mount by using masking tape to attach a straightened paper clip along the outside of a dime roller. Bend the paper clip at each end, running it all the way through the top of the dime roller, but just bending it enough to hold the engine in place at the bottom, as illustrated in Figure 2. Ensure the masking tape is thick enough (just under 1”) to keep engine mount firmly in place inside of body tube.
Glue engine mount into the bottom of the body tube using extra tacky craft glue.
Glue balsa wood fins onto the body tube.
Glue plastic straw along one of the balsa wood fins to act as a “launch lug”.
Paint the body tube and the nosecone with three coats of silver acrylic paint, and the fins with two coats of black acrylic paint.
II. Rocket Launch
Spread talcum powder on both sides of the parachute to ensure deployment.
Insert a B6-4 rocket engine into the engine mount and fold the engine mount wire to ensure the engine will not eject from the rocket.
Attach an igniter to the engine as illustrated in Figure 3.
Place the rocket on the launch pad.
Mark the location where the angular distance of the rocket will be recorded 50m from the launch pad.
Electronically ignite the engine.
Record the time the rocket takes to reach its apogee, the time the taken until impact with the ground, and the angular distance of the rocket.
Purpose / Materials and Procedure / Data and Analysis/ Sources of Error / Conclusion
Materials
Procedure: (Please see Figure 1 for reference)
I. Rocket Design
- Shape a nosecone from 1” thick Styrofoam using a utility knife and file.
- Insert a cup hook into the trailing end of the nosecone.
- Thread elastic through the cup hook, creating a loop, and sew the end of the loop to the rest of the elastic band.
- Cut a circle 14” in diameter out of a plastic shopping bag, and a circle 2” in diameter from the middle of the 14” circle.
- Reinforce the plastic circle with six pieces of packing tape (4cm2 in area) spaced evenly along the perimeter of the bag, 1 cm from the perimeter.
- Using a hole punch, punch six 5mm holes in the packing tape as described above, and tie a 15” piece of kite string around each reinforced hole of the parachute.
- Sew one end of the snap swivel to the elastic 3” below the nosecone. Attach the parachute to the other end of the snap swivel.
- Cut three fins from balsa wood to the specifications illustrated in Figure 2.
- Form tabs in the balsa wood fins to insert into the slits in the body tube.
- Cut slits into the body tube to fit inserted fin tabs.
- Create a “package” for the unused end of the bungee cord by folding and gluing a 3cmX6cm piece of paper. Glue “package” inside the body tube 10 cm from the top end of the body tube.
- Create an engine mount by using masking tape to attach a straightened paper clip along the outside of a dime roller. Bend the paper clip at each end, running it all the way through the top of the dime roller, but just bending it enough to hold the engine in place at the bottom, as illustrated in Figure 2. Ensure the masking tape is thick enough (just under 1”) to keep engine mount firmly in place inside of body tube.
- Glue engine mount into the bottom of the body tube using extra tacky craft glue.
- Glue balsa wood fins onto the body tube.
- Glue plastic straw along one of the balsa wood fins to act as a “launch lug”.
- Paint the body tube and the nosecone with three coats of silver acrylic paint, and the fins with two coats of black acrylic paint.
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